2 killed in West Rogers Park hit-and-run

May 05, 2009

The day after the owner of an Assyrian social club and a female companion were killed in a hit-and-run crash while crossing a street in West Rogers Park, a longtime friend of the owner said he didn't deserve his fate.

"I lost a friend. He was a good guy," Benjamin Warda said of Yakho Oshana, whom he had known for more than 30 years. "He didn't hurt nobody."

The crash happened about 10:35 p.m. Monday in the 6400 block of North Western Avenue, police said. The red Honda that police believe struck Oshana and Christy Cawthon was later found abandoned in the 6300 block of North Maplewood Avenue. Police are "talking with people," said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer JoAnn Taylor. She declined to say if investigators have identified any suspects or persons of interest.

After the crash, Cawthon, 34, of the 6500 block of North Claremont Avenue, was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, where she was pronounced dead at 11:26 p.m. Oshana, 52, of the 6700 block of North California Avenue, was pronouced dead at the Cook County medical examiner's office. The medical examiner identified Oshana as 50 years old and listed his address as 6347 N. Sacramento Ave., the same address as the Assyrian Social Organization, Inc.

At the accident scene early this morning, Adams Oshana, the dead man's brother, said he was in a nearby Dunkin' Donuts on Rosemont Avenue and Western when someone told him about the crash. He later identified his brother's body at the scene and walked away crying.

A woman on the scene said she knew both victims well and that they were crossing the street together when the car hit them.

"He was trying to call me [on his cell phone], before he was hit," the woman said of Yakho Oshana as she cried in the arms of friends. She requested that she remain anonymous, but a man standing next to her said she and Oshana had dated.

Adams Oshana said he and his brother had been living in the neighborhood since 1976. He said his brother was the owner of an Assyrian social club at Devon and Sacramento Avenues. Warda said Oshana was a native of Syria.

Police said the victims were heading east across Western at Devon Avenue, when a red Honda Civic hit them while heading south on Western. The vehicle did not stop.

A worker at Devon-Wester Currency Exchange, 2400 N. Western Ave., said this afternoon that he was working at the time of the crash and heard it outside.